LIVE LIKE YOU ARE LOVED

LIVE LIKE YOU ARE LOVED

• You’re not the only one

You are not the only one who is feeling the way you are. You are not the only one feeling lonely, troubled, unloved, ugly. So many people around you are feeling the same way. The problem is that no one is willing to show it. We all look at social media, we scroll through Instagram and wish we could be as pretty as her, have as many muscles like him, have that perfect family, that perfect life. Here is the problem…. You are not seeing their scares, their troubles, their imperfections. The fight that “the perfect couple” just had and now the husband is sleeping on the couch. You are not seeing the “most beautiful girl” crying in bed at night because she cannot just be herself. You ARE NOT by yourself. You have so many others who cry in bed at night over the same emotion you are feeling. Do not be afraid, God will lead you where you need to be led. He will guide through troubled times and help you heal from your past. God would never give you a challenge he did not know you were ready for. He has a plan for you, trust him.

• Failing

We all fail. It part of life. Sometimes we are not ready to fail, we are ready to move from it and it is sometimes hard to grasp the fact that we failed not only ourselves but also the people around us whom we love so dearly. It’s never to hard or to late to let go. Weather you have failed at winning in your sport, failed as a spouse, or failed a test please know…. You ARE NOT a failure. You are STRONG. We all fail at points in our life but God is standing next to us ready to grab our hand and lift us up. God often gives us trials in our life, but he is surrounding us on every side. So, do not be afraid to fail. Get yourself back up and try harder next time. Trust God.

• Perfection you are chasing

Perfection. My least favorite word. It doesn’t exist, we are living in a world of false perfection. Where women are expected to look like models, be skinny, and have the best clothes. Men are expected to have washboard abs, white teeth, and the coolest outfit. The perfection that you are chasing is waste of your time. God has created you with his own hands into YOU. No one else is to look like you do, talk like you do, love like you do, cry like you do, dress like you do. No one is YOU. If we all stand up against “the standard” we can make an impact in the world. It is okay to be skinny, plump, curvy. It is okay to have one arm, no arms, one leg, or autism. We are all unique and we all need to stop chasing a false and non-existent idea of perfection and start loving ourselves, our bodies, and embracing the world and others around us and start loving who God has created us to be.

• He loves you like you are

Remember the song you use to sing as a kid? Jesus loves me this I know. For the bible tells me so, little ones to him be strong they are weak but he is strong. Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, for the bible tells me so.
Yeah well he does, He loves you so incredibly much. He loves you so much that he died on the cross for your sins. God loves us all, everyone on this Earth. That a lot of people. He loves us just as we are, flawed, broken and sinners. God loves us just as we are and we do not need to change because God has created us who we are for a plan and a purpose. God’s love is more than enough. His love is all you truly need to care about. Yes, you are loved by so many but God’s love is first. As well as your love for God.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.
 
Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

• Act like you’ve been set free

Be confident, hold your head high. Yes, at times this is going to be difficult and some days you are going to want to curl up in a ball and lay in bed because you feel unloved or broken. Please understand and know, we are all broken, and we all have this same feeling at times. But you are more than your brokenness. Your brokenness makes you beautiful, it sets you apart and you can learn many lessons from it. Pray with God and ask him to set you free of your brokenness and he will. You will soar on wings like eagles. You are free because of God. One day the pain will be taken from you, it will be no longer. Walk with your head high like you are free.

• Be who he made you to be

Often we wish we were someone else, we wish we looked like our favorite celebrity, we wish that we didn’t have our biggest flaw. We ask ourselves, “God why did you decide to create me like this? Why not someone else? Why me?” These are thoughts that run through our head on a daily basis, as we look into the mirror and remind ourselves of our differences, as we scroll through social media and sees photos of men and women with ideal bodies and unrealistic lives. We need to take a step back and remind ourselves that we need to stop trying to live like others and start living like we were made to live. We need to start being the men and women who God made us to be. We need to start living for Christ and stop living for ourselves.

• Live like you know you are valuable

Do not live like everyone else. Live your own life. You are valuable. Celebrate your uniqueness, every part of you makes you unique. Identify your values in life and apply them to your own life. Decide your goals and go for them with full force, live your dreams! Put all your energy into them because anything is possible with God. The Bible says you belong to God, God says not only that you are accepted but that you are valuable. Don’t ever confuse your valuables with your value as a person. You can be rich or poor but it has nothing to do with your value as a person. When I say value, I am talking about your self-worth. The first step to self-worth is to stop comparing yourself to others. Challenge your inner voice, and try not to think so critically about yourself.

• Don’t be afraid

Have you ever felt afraid? Of course, you have, maybe you are afraid of the dark or of spiders? Those are fears but I am not talking about being afraid of those things. I am talking about being afraid to be yourself. Have you ever left a part out when someone asks about your life? Or have you ever been afraid to do something because people around you won’t think it’s acceptable or you are afraid they will make fun of you? Also, sometimes we are afraid of the outcome of things, afraid we are not enough. However, God says do not be afraid for I am with you. We do not need to be afraid of our future because God has a plan for our futures. God will lead us through tough times and guide and direct us.
 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

• Believe

Believe in yourself and believe in God. We often do good in believing in God. Some of us are raised believing in God and if you have that part in your life then often the enemy comes along and tries to destroy the ability to believe in yourself. The enemy will try to tell you all different reasons to make you think that you don’t have it… but don’t listen because YOU DO! Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Believe in yourself and God and you can achieve anything, and do anything. You hold value in this world and you CAN make a difference.
 
Love, Sarah
 #IMPERFECTLYPERFECT
My inspiration for this post was from the song Live Like You’re Loved by Hawk Nelson. Take a listen for yourself!